Students from Abroad

Know your Campus

For students who are anxious to attend our UPRM campus on the beautiful island of Puerto Rico, you are in for a real treat. The Puerto Ricans are very friendly, and the campus is our pride creating a family or community atmosphere.

The University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez (UPRM) —or Recinto Universitario de Mayagüez (RUM) in Spanish— is a state university located in the city of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico. UPRM is the second largest university campus of the University of Puerto Rico System, and the premier Engineering and Science institution of the Caribbean. UPRM has been accredited by the "Middle States Commission on Higher Education" (MSCHE) since 1946. Also, the Engineering undergraduate program is accredited by the "Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology" (ABET), the Nursing undergraduate program is accredited by the "National League of Nursing" (NLN) and the Chemistry Department is recognized by the "American Chemical Society" (ACS). The Business Administration Department is going through the process of the AACSB accreditation.

THE ISLAND
Puerto Rico is an island 100 miles long and 35 miles wide bounded on the north by the Atlantic Ocean and on the south by the Caribbean Sea. Approximately 80 percent of the land is mountainous or hilly with the main mountain chain running east and west and clearly dividing south and north regions. The major cities are San Juan, Ponce, Caguas, Mayaguez, and Arecibo. The lower elevations have a tropical climate with an average annual temperature of 82 degrees changing to subtropical at increasingly higher elevations. Both temperature and humidity are affected by the NE trade winds. Most of the rainfall occurs between May and December varying from an annual average of 161 inches in the north to 36 inches in the south. (A map of PR can be seen at the Welcome To Puerto Rico web site or the CIA Factbook.)

HOW'S YOUR SPANISH?
Your first assignment is to determine if you are ready to have all your classroom instruction in Spanish. While there may be an occasional courses taught in English, you need to plan on your professors teaching in Spanish. Puerto Rico is bilingual Spanish/English.

TRAVEL
Puerto Rico’s main International Airport is located in Carolina’s Luis Munoz Marin Airport served by many major airlines, there are also many municipal airports, check your local airport for connecting flights or direct flights to the island. Shuttle Services are common all around the island, as well as taxis. The “Tren Urbano” serves more than 24,000 – 50,000 people, along most of the Metropolitan areas, with 16 stops. Charter planes and private airlines are also offered all around the island.

Shuttle Services are offered all around the Campus.

COMPUTER ACCESS
Puerto Rican campuses have the same technology as the stateside campuses. Aswell as many malls and boardwalks. Municipalities have also implemented wireless gateways on their public plazas and restaurants day by day are offering such a service.
In Campus we offer free wireless services for enrolled students.

Housing
For information on campus and off campus housing refer to the following number: